Finding a Place to Call Home
by Ltb16
Summary: From a prompt, Emma becomes roommates with Elsa and Anna and soon enough their significant others move in as well. Very fluffy.


**1994omi gave me a prompt under my other story, Never Give Up. I thought it was more worthy of a separate one-shot so here you go. **

_Prompt: Emma, Elsa and Anna rooming together in a apartment/house in Storybrooke and then talking about there men and how they need a place too so the split the house and make it in 3 apartments every floor one and than seeing them together_

**I changed it up a little bit, but I hope you like it!**

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><p>Emma Swan pulled in front of the rambling old farmhouse. Slightly haphazard shutters frame its many windows. Well-worn boards form the wraparound porch complete with rocking chairs. Set to the back and slight right of the house stands an ancient oak tree, treehouse and tire swing still intact.<p>

It looks like a home. For a family, with kids. Not for Emma Swan.

She was not interested in the prospect of roommates, preferring to live alone, but when her current landlord told her he was selling the house she was renting, this was the only opportunity that had panned out. The ad informed her that two sisters were looking for a roommate to share the family home they had recently moved back into after the death of their parents.

Climbing out of her bug, she tossed a large bag over her shoulder and grabbed the box of mementos from the front seat. Before she could even knock, the door was thrown open by a girl, probably a few years younger than herself.

"Hi I'm Anna! You must be Emma! This is my sister Elsa." She turned gesturing to the blonde standing a few feet back.

Startled by the sheer peppiness of her new roommate, Emma could only nod before finding her voice. "Yeah, sorry. I'm Emma. It's nice to meet you both."

Elsa who had been appraising her silently finally spoke. "Welcome. Please come in and allow me to show you to your room. Do you have much more to bring in? We did tell you the room is furnished, yes?"

Emma nodded, shifting back and forth on the balls of her feet. She wasn't sentimental and didn't keep very many items. Her last place had come furnished as well and she never felt the need to decorate. Her clothes, toiletries, some bedding, a few favorite coffee mugs and some books made up the majority of her items. "Yeah, you said it was furnished. I just have another bag and box in the car."

Elsa led her up a grand staircase, down a short hallway and stopped in front of a dark wooden door. "I didn't think to replace the knob to be one that locks. I don't think you'd need it, however if it makes you comfortable, please feel free to purchase one and deduct the amount from your rent."

She opened the door, allowing Emma to step past her and inside the room. It was almost as big as Emma's last studio apartment. A large four-post wooden bed was framed by two nightstands. An ornately carved dresser was on the opposite wall between two doors. Emma assumed one was the closet. The other side of the room was set up as a small sitting area, containing a loveseat, ottoman and a television hung on the wall. To the right of that, against the wall was a small dining table, only big enough for two place settings, and two wooden chairs.

"You have your own bath, it's behind this door." Elsa said, opening the door to the left of the dresser. From where she stood Emma could see it was also very large and contained more counter space around the sink than she'd had in her whole life. "I hope you're not one for baths, it's only a stand up shower."

"No, its completely fine." Emma replied.

"The other door is the closet. It's a walk in and we installed additional shelving seeing as it needs to serve as an linen closet as well." Elsa explained. "Oh! I have your keys." She reached into the pocket of her dress and pulled out three old-fashioned skeleton keys, each marked with a different color of paint. "Red is for the deadbolt on the front door, blue is the main front door lock and yellow is for the back entrance."

"Thanks." Emma said taking the keys from her.

"I'll let you get settled in. The kitchen is downstairs, straight down the hall from the front door. Living room and sitting room are on the left, the dining room is on the right although we rarely use it. Anna's room is next to yours and mine is at the opposite end of the hall. Please let us know if we're ever disturbing your peace. We've never had a roommate… Oh! We aren't much by the way of chefs, but we try to keep ourselves fed." She broke off with an embarrassed smile. "Anna suggested grilled cheese and tomato soup for dinner tonight, probably around seven. You are more than welcome to join us any night you wish. There is a small refrigerator under the table if you wanted to keep any snacks in your room, otherwise please feel free to eat anything you find in the kitchen. We'll figure out splitting up the groceries and such later."

"Grilled cheese sounds great. I'll see you at seven?" Emma said and Elsa nodded, leaving her to get settled in.

It took two more trips to her car and just a few hours before Emma had unpacked, hanging up all of clothing, moving her toiletries into the bathroom and putting her favorite blanket on the bed.

-/-

All of Emma's concerns about intruding on a family were quickly washed away. Elsa and Anna were nothing but nice to her and never made her feel as though she were intruding on a personal moment or family time. It didn't take long before the girls had developed a routine of sorts. Grilled cheese and tomato soup was relegated to Wednesday nights, the only night Emma knew she wasn't going to work late. Friday and Saturday nights were for dates and parties but Sunday nights had become a sacred girls night, full of popcorn, pizza and movies.

Never being close to other girls as a teenager, Emma wasn't sure what to expect of those nights and was wary at first but ended up pleasantly surprised. She shared the same taste in movies as Elsa and pizza toppings as Anna. They both instantly fell in love with her dash of cinnamon in hot chocolate. For the first time in her life, Emma felt like she had a home.

Anna was dating a man named Kristoff who delivered large blocks of dry ice to companies. A bit sarcastic but otherwise very friendly, Emma got along with him great. He'd sometimes join them for dinner, but she rarely saw him, usually only when dropping off Anna after one of their dates.

Emma headed into the kitchen one morning, catching the sisters in a rare argument.

"I don't see why it would be such a problem. His hours are opposite yours so it's not like you'd see him but on the weekends. Plus the extra money in rent would really help to get this place repaired." Anna huffed.

"My opinion is not the only one that needs to be taken into consideration. Emma lives here too and why knows if she wants to share a house with Kristoff. Perhaps she moved here to live with women, seeing as that's what we advertised for." Elsa countered.

Emma chose that moment to walk in. "Good morning?" she asked, pretending not to have overheard the previous conversation.

"Good morning Emma, Anna and I were just discussing something." Elsa said politely.

"Goodie! You're here. I need to ask you something. So, Kristoff's lease is ending soon and we were talking about moving in together anyway. I don't want to leave the house to just you and Elsa so I thought he could move in here. We have more than enough room, the entire top floor isn't even being used and there are three more bedrooms up there! What do you think? You like him enough right? Would you mind if he lived here? Please say no!" Anna said in a rush.

This was not a good position to be put in, between two sisters with differing opinions. Emma chose her words carefully. "Well, yes I do like him. I wouldn't mind if he was here but I really think it's something that you and your sister need to agree on, seeing as you own the house…"

"HA! She's okay with it. Come on Elsa! Please!?" Anna begged.

Elsa rolled her eyes. "Emma, are you sure? I don't wish you to feel as though you need to agree with my sister simply to make her happy."

"No, I really don't mind. Kristoff is cool." Emma said truthfully.

Elsa sighed. "Fine, Anna. You may ask him if he wishes to live here. But know that you'll be fully responsible for fixing up the third floor should you wish to live there."

"Oh thank you Elsa! You are my favorite sister! Well, I mean you're my only sister but you are the greatest. Really! The absolutely best! I love you so much!" Anna practically bounced out of the room.

"I suppose I made her day?" Elsa said, causing Emma to laugh.

"Yeah, I'd think so. And really, I'm okay with it. Are you sure you are?"

"I'll adapt if need be. Anna is correct, it is a shame the state this house is in and more rent money will only help us to repair it." Elsa said.

"Do you want more? Money that is. I mean, you're grossly under charging me for rent. I can pay more." Emma said immediately. It was the truth, she was paying less for rent and utilities here than she had paid for just rent in her own place.

"No! Not at all. We're charging you more than a fair rate I believe. You don't have a boyfriend that you want to have move in though too, do you?" Elsa asked.

"Well, I have a boyfriend but we're no where near the living together stage. What about you? I realized I have no idea what we're doing when Anna and I are going out on the weekend." Emma asked.

"I am seeing someone but we're taking it very, very slow." Elsa conceded.

-/-

Nearly half a year later the topic of adding a new person to their home was mentioned again, this time by Emma. After Kristoff had moved in and his friends began to come around, Emma felt more comfortable inviting Killian over. He easily got along with everyone and it wasn't much later that he began to staying the night as well. Similar to Kristoff, his lease was ending soon and Emma decided it was worth mentioning.

"Of course!" was Elsa's happy reply when she had asked.

"No seriously. I don't want you to feel obligated that you need to say yes, like I'll move out or something if you don't. I just wanted to mention it since it seems to have gone well with Kristoff here." Emma said.

"I do not feel obligated in the least Emma. When Anna and I were children this house use to be full of people, from the live in nanny, to the cousins and friends my parents constantly had staying with us. Every winter we would take in a homeless family or two (or three) and to make sure they were fed and warm and could celebrate Christmas with us. Sometimes they'd stay on through until spring before finding their own place again. My father did everything in his power to make sure that anyone who ever needed a place to stay knew they were more than welcome here for as long as needed, no questions asked. After their death, no one came around anymore and it wasn't until you came here, then Kristoff, did I realize how much I truly love when this house is full. It makes it feel like a home again, not just a shell of its former self. I would be most pleased to have Killian move in as well."

Emma nodded, wordlessly. Elsa's line about it being a home had hit her hard. She hadn't realized it, but this house with these two women felt more like home than she had ever experienced in her entire life. Having Killian there as well would add the last piece to her puzzle. "Thank you, really." She finally managed to say.

As expected, Killian fit into the group easily. He and Kristoff and their friends immediately set to making the top floor of the house habitable again. Wallpaper was taken down, fresh coats of paint went up, new floor boards replaced their previously warped counterparts. It wasn't long until most date nights had transformed into renovation nights, both couples tackling a room under the supervision of Elsa.

Less than two months later Anna and Kristoff had fully moved to the third floor, A living room and small kitchenette had been added, should the couple want their privacy some days. At Elsa's suggestion, Emma and Killian had knocked down the wall between Emma's room and Anna's old room, creating a full living room and adding in another closet and bathroom. They opted not to add a kitchenette, just a microwave.

At Christmas Anna and Kristoff announced their engagement and plans to remain in the house even when married. Elsa revealed she was finally ready for everyone to meet her boyfriend and planned to introduce him that evening over dinner.

"I just wanted to say thank you." Emma said, barely above a whisper. She was curled up on the loveseat with Killian, hand in his, enjoying every minute of this holiday that had always been so painful for her. "To all of you. I never wanted roommates and honestly never thought I'd stay here for more than a few weeks before finding my own place, but I'm so glad I didn't. I know its your home, but it feels like home to me here too and I've never had that before."

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><p><strong>Review? <strong>


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